Feral
by Rawr it's Kizami
Summary: Unsure if he's alive or dead, Heero, Duo, Trowa and Wufei deploy to a deserted base in search of Quatre. What they find is something much worse than death. Warning: Character death. Rated T for now, but may change later. 1x2 3x4
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own GW unfortunately. But how convenient would it be if I did? It'd be fun, entertaining, AND accommodating! They could be like live-in servants… I mean… no that's what I meant. Too bad… :sad face:

Summary: Feral - adj - having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication. Some things were never meant to be uncovered. Warning: Character death.

**Feral  
**Rawr It's Kizami

Prologue

It was a mistake, it was all just a stupid, stupid, _stupid_ mistake. A bad decision. A lapse in judgement. A miscalculation. A _mistake. _His mind searched through scattered words for the one best fit to describe his situation and kept coming back to the same one: _mistake._ Everything was a big, horrible mistake. It had all happened so suddenly, so fast, so inexplicably. There was no time to react.

He was confused. He was sad. He was angry. He was scared. He could feel all the distress and despair on the other side of the door along with something he didn't recognize. The emotional chaos overwhelmed him to the point where he almost couldn't tell which were his and which were coming from outside. It was pure pandemonium on his system.

He didn't have anyone to blame, hell, he didn't even know what was going on. At least when they were still fighting the war he knew who to place the blame on and direct his anger at. He knew exactly whose fault it was and, alongside his friends, knew exactly what to do. But what was he supposed to do now? What did they expect him to do? He didn't know what was even happening! He hated this feeling of ignorance and fear. If he only knew what he was up against, he would be able to use this to come up with something, _anything_, to combat just whatever was attacking.

He uncontrollably shivered. That was if he could call it attacking. No, a direct assault would have been much easier to handle. What was happening now was something else, something he couldn't even begin to fathom.

…

He whipped his head around the dark room wildly. There was no one there, he assured himself. He'd been in this same room since it all started, and he'd kept the door locked the entire time. But he was also certain he just heard someone whisper his name. It didn't even sound harsh, it was tender and soft, like they were caressing each letter. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise in panic. What a strange thing to hallucinate.

_Great_, he thought, his wide baby blues darting around the darkness aimlessly, _Something bad is happening, I'm stuck in this room, I can't find Rashid, and to top it all off, I'm going crazy_. He let out a shaky breath and hugged his knees closer to his chest. No, no, everything was going to be fine. All he had to do was wait it out.

He swallowed anxiously. His body refused to listen to his rationalizing and continued to tremble against the cold wall.

_Quatre…_

He sat straight up and unconsciously dug his fingernails into his pant legs. His eyes were wide and full of fear. He _definitely_ heard it that time. Someone or some_thing_ was calling him. He stared straight ahead, fixated on a point hidden by the shadows, too afraid to move his eyes for fear of what he might see.

He didn't even know what he was so scared of. He was the only one in there. But all his irrational fear stemmed from his memories of late-nights with his friends, of the horror stories shared between them. Despite himself, the voice in the back of his mind recalled a specific story told to him about Bloody Mary. An image of a grinning girl covered in blood flashed across his vision.

He shut his eyes tightly closed, but the grisly grin remained burned in his head. He hated that story and hated how ridiculously scared it made him. He knew it wasn't real and he had no reason to be scared, but something inside him asked, _"What if?"_ He shook his head slowly from side to side.

_Mine to make…_

His eyes snapped open. He was on the verge of completely panicking, but years of piloting Sandrock through bloody battles and working alongside some of the most stoic men in space through dangerous missions taught him how to keep his cool. But now it was too much. All the misery barraging him from outside mixed with his own fearful mental state was just too much to handle.

And now it seemed to him as though the darkness was talking to him, sucking him in. No, no, that was just crazy, and he was sure he was sane. Overwhelmed yes, but insane no. Totally and completely and inarguably sane.

A chill ran down his spine. He wrapped his arms tighter around his knees until his knuckles turned a sickly shade of pale white against his khakis. Nothing made sense. Nothing had made sense all night.

_Mine to take…_

He suddenly held his hands, now balled into tight fists, over his chest. The feeling of dread he felt from outside just doubled. His heart pounded ferociously, his pulse echoed in his ears. He was sure whoever was outside could hear his rapid heartbeat.

"Master Quatre."

He gasped and staggered to his feet despite the sour pain punishing his joints for sitting in the same position for so long. Rashid's voice was more than welcome to his haggard emotional state. "R-Rashid!" he stammered, stumbling over loose debris scattered around the room as he hurriedly felt his way toward the door on the opposite wall.

He suddenly stopped, his hand frozen above the keypad. Something felt different… it felt _wrong. _He had been through much with the man on the other side of the door, and in these stressful conditions his aura was usually anger disguised as excitement and only a little anxious, but never scared. Now, Rashid felt different… it was something he had never felt before. He couldn't compare it to any emotion, but if he had to, it would be placidness to the point of emptiness. Like a void.

He swallowed hard.

"Master Quatre, you need to come with me."

He was at a loss. He didn't know what to do; his mind told him to stop being ridiculous and to go outside, it was _Rashid_ after all, but his heart told him to stand his ground, to stay away, to hole himself up in the office.

"W-Where are we going?" he managed to choke out in spite of his uncooperative vocal cords.

"Somewhere safe."

"I am safe… right here…"

_Mine to break… _

"No," came Rashid's unusually calm tone, "This place isn't safe anymore."

The faint sound of a key card swiping through the lock followed by a sequence of beeps echoed from the outside hallway. He slowly backed away from the door. He knew that the man coming through the open doorway would never hurt him. He knew that the man taking slow, deliberate steps toward him would give his life up for him.

But the man grabbing his wrists in the darkness was not he. The man towing him out into the hallway pulsing red with emergency lights was not he. The man with the bloodshot eyes and wicked grin was a different man entirely.

Feeling his desperation to escape welling up, he hesitantly reached behind him for the gun he put by the small of his back at the beginning of the night when he had first felt something was off. He would never think of shooting the man in front of him, and he was unsure if he could bring himself to pull the trigger. He didn't like using guns period, but at a time like this, it was his only option.

The sound of a third set of footsteps stirred behind them and he immediately pivoted on his left foot to aim the gun shakily at the intruder.

"Abdul?" he gasped, staring into the sunglasses as the flashing red lights reflecting off the dark surface reminded him of blood. He, too, wore a sadistic grin on his face.

It was strange. He couldn't feel Abdul's usual carefree aura either. His arm faltered, but he forced himself to keep the barrel aimed at the third man.

_You are mine…_

He suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of his head.

He watched as the glowing red hall faded into the dark. The one thing he had time to do was think to himself that the darkness had sucked him in.

-End Prologue-

Bah. I don't know if this is a good prologue… I'm afraid that I may have given away too much too soon and the rest will just be "yawn, it's like we read this already". Let me know what you guys think, and depending on your reviews, I may rewrite this chapter.

I'd also like to know if this was scary, haha. I'm a big, big, big fan of horror myself. I love reading it and I love watching it. I'm just afraid I may not be very adept at writing it.

As always, feedback of any kind is always appreciated


	2. WakeUp Call

Disclaimer: I don't own GW unfortunately. But how convenient would it be if I did? It'd be fun, entertaining, AND accommodating! They could be like live-in servants… I mean… no that's what I meant. Too bad… :sad face:

**Feral  
**Rawr It's Kizami

Chapter One: Wake-Up Call

Duo did nothing to suppress the loud, wide-mouthed yawn that escaped his tired lips. He stretched arms behind his head tiredly, ignoring the mild look of disgust an equally tired Wufei shot him. Two in the morning. Duo Maxwell should be asleep at two in the morning. Unless he was busily engaged in one of his favorite carnal activities, but he refrained himself from thinking about that too much. He smirked slightly at the fleeting thought and glanced at his companions nonchalantly.

After the war had ended, the five Gundam pilots attempted to go their separate ways. Quatre adjusted into his new role as head of both the Maganacs Corps and the illustrious Winner Corporation very well and Wufei retreated back into his position as a Preventer. After finding it difficult to assimilate to civilian life (Duo still got a good chuckle out of telling the story of how Heero pulled out a gun on a girl scout who tried to sell them cookies), they joined the Preventer ranks at Wufei's suggestion (Duo _really_ enjoyed telling that story) and were a team again.

Duo found that while their team technically worked well together, it just wasn't the same without the cheerful blond and he found himself missing the guy. He figured that the others probably missed him, too, but he was definite that Trowa missed him. Duo had always considered the five of them to be bros despite the annoyed looks of protest from Wufei and Heero, but Trowa and Quatre were _best bros_. Duo sighed. He wanted someone to be best bros with, someone who was fun and lively like him, not afraid to take on the world everyday. He looked at the three other men in the room. _Beggars can't be choosers_, he thought.

As if completely unaffected by the surprising wake-up call, Heero stood perfectly still and stared straight ahead as the four of them waited for Peacecraft in his office. Wufei stood stiffly with his arms crossed loosely over his chest, his eyes somewhat red from the lack of sleep.

Duo yawned again. He couldn't believe anything could be so important as to disturb their well-deserved sleep. The subtle looks on Trowa and Wufei's faces told him they felt the same way. He shifted his weight to the other foot and darted his gaze out the window behind the ornate desk.

Space always looked so peaceful and quiet to him, even after all the terrible things he'd witnessed while piloting Deathscythe, but tonight it seemed almost malicious. Maybe it was his sleep deprivation causing his paranoia, but he inwardly cringed at the sight of the moon encircled by a glowing red halo. It seemed almost innately corrupt. Duo quickly glanced away from the mesmerizing sight. He knew full well that the Preventer's Satellite Base's current position before the moon gave it that appearance as it aligned with Mars.

But he had a gut feeling that something horrible had happened and it downright creeped him out. Duo had learned from a young age to trust his intuition, and it was always right. As the office doors slid open with a hydraulic hiss, he silently prayed for the first time for his instinct to be wrong.

"I'm glad you are all here," greeted Milliardo Peacecraft, the head of their floating base, as he and Lucrezia Noin, his right hand, took their positions in front of the desk. His expression was stoic and unreadable. "Last night at approximately 0100 hours we received an emergency distress signal from the Lunar Base."

Duo swallowed in an attempt to quiet his rising anxiety. His mouth was suddenly very dry. He _knew_ something was wrong now. _Ding ding ding, bingo, Yahtzee! Intuition wins again! _he thought wryly, trying to lighten himself up. It was two in the morning, and the four of them were specifically called into Master Peacecraft's office to respond to a distress signal received less than an hour ago? He began to suspect the worst.

His hands were clammy. He had an irresistible urge to pinch himself, to yell at himself to wake up from this ridiculous dream, but all Duo could do was watch as Noin pulled out a file and handed it to Milliardo.

"The signal was sent three times in rapid succession," the fair-haired leader went on, his eyes not even glimpsing at the paper, "The distress beacon was activated before the signal was sent, then deactivated when the signal stopped, and reactivated approximately ten minutes later."

"That's weird," Duo commented, crossing his arms over his chest protectively as a chill crawled up his spine, "Why would they turn the beacon on and off like that?"

"Someone turned it off," Heero answered, his eyes trained directly ahead of him at Milliardo.

"Well, duh," Duo retorted in a forced rendition of his childish tone. His anxiety was only growing and he didn't want the other pilots to sense his worry, but from the questioning glare Heero shot him from the side he knew he wasn't doing a very good job of masking it. "But who?"

"Someone who didn't want it on."

Heero's reply sent another chill down Duo's spine. The Lunar Base was no longer a place of military threat; it was just a tourist attraction and research center now. Duo couldn't imagine why anyone would infiltrate it. The kind of things they were experimenting with there couldn't be worth hundreds of lives, could it?

"Why we were we specifically requested?" Trowa asked suddenly, his soft, neutral tone knocking Duo back from his thoughts.

"That's where our biggest concern comes in," Noin responded as Milliardo's eyes finally scanned over the file in his hands. "We didn't know whether to depend on or completely disregard you guys because of your relationship with the party in distress."

Duo felt his stomach drop. At that point he knew, and he knew that the other three knew, exactly who she was talking about. He hesitantly snuck a glance at Trowa to his left. He was worried about how the tall man would handle it; he was the closest to Sandrock's pilot and Duo suspected he would blame himself if anything happened to the petit blond. Trowa's face, however, showed not the slightest change, but that was all the American needed to confirm his suspicions.

In all the time he had known the ex-circus performer, Duo had never seen him react in a way that was overly noticeable. After a decent amount of time, he had grown accustomed to it and even when Trowa's expression remained blank, Duo knew he was unleashing an outburst of emotion internally.

But what was their friend doing at the Lunar Base? He had his own resource satellite to worry about, and, according to Duo's limited knowledge, there was absolutely nothing of interest on the moon unless they somehow found dissecting moon rocks fun-which Duo decidedly did not.

"The reason for their visit is unknown," Milliardo told them, carefully placing the closed folder on the desk behind him, "But the visitor's log records them as having arrived at 1900 hours yesterday evening."

"Six hours is not a lot of time for something that large scale to develop," Wufei remarked, his dark eyes casted downwards in thought. "And it's definitely not enough time to realize it and escape."

"Of course it is," Duo argued, more to make himself feel better about the circumstances than to debate with the other man. He would rather keep hopeful that Quatre was smart enough to assess his position than think of the depressing alternative.

"It depends on the situation," Heero grunted, eliciting a begrudging nod of agreement from Wufei.

"We have no information about their status," Noin went on in her collected, professional tone, "and when we tried to contact the base there was no answer."

"You are the Preventer's response to this problem," Milliardo ordered, giving the pilots a curt nod. "Assess the situation, eliminate any threats and bring back any survivors. Prepare to leave for the Lunar Base at 0230. Yuy," he added, making direct eye contact with Heero, "you are in charge of this mission."

"Wait, just the four of us?" Duo asked incredulously. "The Lunar Base is huge! It'll take us forever to search all of it!"

"We have to keep this operation quiet," Noin answered. "If word got out to the colonies that the Lunar Base, a former asset of OZ, was attacked in the middle of the night, rumors about the formation of a new faction would spread and the people would panic."

"Besides," Milliardo added, smirking smugly, "you four are the best for the job."

-x-

Heero crossed his arms over his chest and watched the distant stars stream by as Duo piloted their shuttle toward the growing moon. Although he didn't like to admit it, he had discovered long ago that while he was decidedly better at everything else, Duo was a slightly better pilot. It wasn't as bad as he had initially thought; with the long-haired American driving it freed him up to do the important things like diagnostics and reports.

He hated reports.

For as long as Heero could remember, there was always a report to do just as sure as there was always someone to kill. He detested paperwork. The laptop he lugged around everywhere was a much better substitution for the annoying files-everything was in one, organized space and if he needed something changed, he could go back and change it hassle-free. Plus, the library of games he had installed on there were a great stress reliever and kept his reflexes sharp. They were also fun.

"Man, I got a bad, bad feeling about this," Duo piped from the pilot's seat, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen between them.

No one said anything. It was taboo to bring up Quatre. They'd been through enough to know that sometimes bad things happened to good people and as much as everyone liked to think they were the exception, it was a lie planted by the sappy movies Duo sometimes made them watch. As far as they knew, death didn't discriminate.

That was one of the things Heero worried about for tonight's mission. The four of them were too close to Quatre, who might or might not be dead already, and might compromise the mission in their own way. Logic dictated that the four of them shouldn't have accepted, they should have stayed at the Satellite Base and waited for another rescue team to report in. He glanced at his right and watched as Duo bit the bottom of his lip. The truth was Heero wanted to be here as much as the others. He couldn't allow himself to sit back and watch as a group of complete strangers went to save someone he considered a decent comrade, maybe even a friend. He needed to see Quatre for himself.

Duo was another story. Heero personally knew how emotional he could become and, more often than not, the braided pilot's actions were driven by raw emotion. If it turned out that Quatre was actually dead, Duo's impulsiveness could cost them more than just the mission. What Heero needed right now was for him to be cautious and level-headed. They were going in completely blind-they had no idea what they were up against.

From his seat at the panel behind Duo, Wufei made a sound between his teeth. "No one is answering still."

Heero nodded his acknowledgement but kept his gaze in front of him. Next to himself, Wufei would be the least likely to compromise the mission at this point. His leadership skills were adequate and his analytical mind were what made Heero delegate the Chinese pilot as his second in command for the mission. His temper, however, was what Heero was afraid might end up jeopardizing them. Wufei's short fuse often led him to rush into action without properly thinking things through, the one thing Heero needed them to do tonight above all else.

"Geez, you'd think they'd all fallen asleep at the controls," Duo quipped, forcing a hollow chuckle at the end. Heero rolled his eyes at the pure absurdity of the notion but refrained from commenting on it. He knew the braided pilot was trying his best to keep their minds off Quatre and, honestly, he welcomed it if it would help.

"So where are we gonna land this thing?" Duo asked, his cobalt eyes darting around the rocky surface of the approaching moon.

As they drew closer to the developed crater, the blinking red beacons dotted around the individual buildings came into focus and the full impact of the situation dawned on them. Whoever had infiltrated something this large-scale must not only have numbers, but a brilliant strategy. Heero exhaled sharply as he pulled up the base's blueprints on his laptop. The last group to successfully capture the Lunar Base were the White Fang, and they were abolished by the very group sitting in the shuttle. There was the prospect that a small group survived and managed to reestablish the faction in secret, but Heero highly doubted that.

Of course, that was if it was an invasion by an outside force. It was possible that the whole thing was an inside job.

"The hangar bay near the mall should be automated," Trowa told him from the back.

Heero nodded and enlarged the map of the mall as Duo whistled and turned the shuttle toward the immense spiral at the bottom of the area. "So we can just fly right in, huh? You'd think they'd be more cautious after everything."

"It's always been that way for convenience," Trowa replied, shrugging slightly before immediately returning his empty gaze to the blank panel before him.

"Well it's pretty damn convenient for us right now," Duo remarked, sporting one of his trademark grins as he glanced back quickly and winked playfully at Trowa, who ignored him and remained fixated on the barren panel.

Heero watched from the corner of his eye as Duo's cheeks puffed out in an exaggerated sigh. Trowa had been like this since the debriefing in Peacecraft's office. He was even less reactive than usual and despite his attempt at making it seem normal, it was painfully obvious to his comrades that he was beside himself with worry. Heero's mouth twisted into a small scowl. The one pilot he could regularly depend on during missions was the one he found himself needing to keep an eye on the most. It unnerved him.

"And, gentlemen, we… are… here…" Duo breathed, navigating the small shuttle through the gaping maw of the widening bay doors.

The ex-pilot of Deathscythe swallowed anxiously as a chill traveled down his spine for the third time that night. A thought flitted through his mind as the doors rumbled closed behind them.

_Right into the belly of the beast._

-End Chapter One-

Honestly, I have no idea if there even is a Preventer's Base floating around the earth. But if where they're going is the moon and it's an emergency, I think leaving from the Earth would take quite a while. Come to think of it, I'm not even totally sure about what the Lunar Base looks like. So, apologies for any misinformation! And sorry if this chapter isn't scary. Or written very well for that matter


	3. Splitting Up

**Feral  
**Rawr It's Kizami

Chapter Two: Splitting Up

"Empty," Wufei murmured in a hushed tone, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his katana.

Heero, following Trowa out of the shuttle to stand by Wufei in the hangar, remained silent and surveyed the area. Aside from their own vehicle, several other transport shuttles were situated around the large ward, the incandescent lights overhead reflecting off ghostly, white bodies with their noses turned toward the exit. The space traffic control office was vacant with a few discarded coffee cups forgotten on the panel, and at the far left wall was the entrance into the tourist sector of the Lunar Base.

"Wow, it's like everyone just suddenly got up and left," Duo remarked, hopping onto the sleek metal floor and closing the shuttle door behind him. He quickly glanced at Trowa, whose eyes were unfocused and staring at the hangar wall blankly, and added with a small laugh, "It must be break time."

"Idiot," Wufei muttered, following Heero to the door with the other two reluctantly trailing.

This was it. They were about to go in and find out exactly what had happened. Heero and Duo stepped to one side of the door while Trowa and Wufei took their places at the other, each of their weapons gripped readily in their hands. After looking into each of their faces and receiving nods of accordance in return, Heero nodded back and calmly pressed his index finger against the sensor pad.

The door immediately yawned open and Heero promptly directed his gun inside.

Lowering his own gun, Duo scratched the back of his neck puzzledly with one hand. "I don't get it," he said, stepping into the threshold behind Heero, "Everything looks good."

"Hn," Heero grunted in reply, his finger resting against the trigger cautiously. He thought Duo's statement wasn't too far off; the mall looked completely untouched with pristine tiled floors and stores with their doors still open. From where the four of them stopped at the center of the spiraling complex, he could see nothing askew. Still, he knew all too well about deception, about how something so inconspicuous could turn out so insidiously. So he didn't necessarily agree with Duo's comment-everything did decidedly not look 'good'.

"No, not good," Wufei vocalized, drawing a look of confusion from Duo. "The door shouldn't have been unlocked, the stores shouldn't be open, and we shouldn't be here."

"Yeah…" Duo sighed, tightening his grip around the firearm. "Now that you mention it, it's weird. This place is giving me the creeps. Let's find Quatre and get the fuck outta dodge."

At the mention of the blond Arabian, Trowa's eyes visibly narrowed a little. Heero ignored it, but noted that the taller pilot had been more silent than usual. As strange as his behavior was, Heero couldn't let that be his focus and instead maneuvered over to the door directly opposite from the one from which they entered. "We need to get to the research sector," he told them.

"Shouldn't we search the area for survivors?" Wufei asked suddenly, darting his gaze around at the individual shops.

Heero opened the door and, without looking back at the Chinese pilot, said simply, "Our first priority is to reach the control room." He didn't want to tell him that it was hopeless looking for survivors here. The area was completely abandoned from what he could tell, and any survivors would have already left through the adjacent hangar. He started down the hallway. He doubted anyone had escaped.

"Hey, uh, Wu-man's right," Duo added, shrinking back slightly when Heero looked back at him with a glare. "We can't just leave innocents here. This place is creepy enough."

After staring at Duo for a while, Heero turned away. If they wanted to waste their time looking for people who weren't there, it was their choice but he wanted no part of it. It had occurred to him that there were most likely survivors scattered around the base, but he was skeptical about them staying in the mall. The looks on Wufei's and Duo's faces told him they thought otherwise, and the thought of Duo saying "Better safe than sorry" crossed his mind. Rather than wasting precious time by explaining the situation and the consequent bickering, Heero conceded and said, "Fine, search the area then meet us at the control room. Contact us if you find anything."

He heard Duo gulp nervously behind him. Obviously the idea did not sit well with the American.

"We're splitting up?" he questioned, tensely tugging at his braid with his free hand. "Man, I feel like we've just stumbled into the beginning of a bad horror movie. Shit always happens when they split up."

"This isn't a movie, Maxwell, this is real life," Wufei chided. "It's more efficient if we split up."

Duo huffed rebelliously, but Heero knew that as brash as he was, Deathscythe's ex-pilot would never disobey a direct order. Especially if it was the right choice-which Heero knew it was.

"Shit's gonna go down, I just know it," Duo muttered, glancing away from the door.

"How do we get to the control room from here?" Wufei asked, ignoring Duo's paranoid mumbling and holding his hand against the doorframe before it could automatically shut behind Heero and Trowa.

"Go all the way down this hallway," Heero replied without stopping.

Wufei pursed his lips in annoyance but released the door anyway. Heero's 'I'm-the-perfect-soldier-holier-than-thou' attitude really ground on his nerves. Even if the area was empty, they should at least put in the effort to look. Since when was Heero psychic anyway? The last time Wufei checked, the ZERO system caused mild insanity, not clairvoyance.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Wuffers," Duo said behind him.

Wufei sighed sharply. Thanks to his big mouth he was now stuck with the self-proclaimed God of Death, who was scared of an empty mall. Ignoring Duo's use of his unsavory nickname, he walked past the braided man and said, "Let's start looking around the first floor."

He could almost feel Duo's immense sigh of relief. Just because they weren't splitting up didn't mean Wufei didn't want to, something-he didn't want to call it 'intuition' or a 'vibe' as Duo did-told him they should stick together.

They walked into the first store in silence, Duo with the trigger tickling his fingertips and Wufei with his hand gripped readily around the hilt of his katana. Nothing looked out of place. It was just an everyday clothing store; the various printed shirts were all hanging casually on their hangers and the small jeans, a fashion item neither of them really understood nor wanted to, were carefully folded on their displays. The neon wall paint reminiscent of color vomit made Wufei shudder and visibly squint his eyes through the brightness, but under normal circumstances he would have just assumed business was slow.

Duo hesitantly moved toward the door to the back room. "There's always something in the back…" he groaned, to which Wufei rolled his eyes. "But a man's gotta do what a man's got-"

A tremendous crash exploded from outside, cutting off Duo in mid-sentence. The two Preventers stared wide-eyed at each other for a fraction of a second before dashing back out into the atrium. With the safety off and the blade unsheathed, Duo and Wufei stood back to back in the center of the tower, their eyes darting around aimlessly.

"What the hell was that?" Duo panted, unsure of where to aim his gun.

"Sounded like glass breaking," Wufei answered, equally as unsure as to where he should be focusing.

He heard Duo swallow nervously behind him and looked over his shoulder to see the slightly taller man point an uncertain finger at the second floor. "Kind of like someone breaking in?" Duo suggested.

Without replying, Wufei ran past Duo and raced up the stairs. He could hear his current partner's footsteps falling behind him after a while, but he paid it no mind. What was important was that there was in fact someone still here. He knew he was right. Once he reached the shattered remains of the tempered glass door, Wufei snuck a cursory glance at the store name and nearly slapped a hand to his forehead in disbelief. _Gee's Candy_, he thought as Duo stopped next to him, _Is this what the scientist did when he wasn't making suits?_

"Huh, well whuddya know," Duo breathed jovially, momentarily forgetting about the problem at hand, "He wasn't kidding when he said he liked candy."

Using his free hand to massage his temple, Wufei shook his head tiredly and then promptly smacked Duo in the back of the head. Duo, feigning an expression of deep offense, held his hand over his heart and whispered, "And I thought we were really getting somewhere, Wuffie."

"Focus, Maxwell!" Wufei chastised despite knowing full well that was how Duo handled pressure. He held his sword with both hands. "I'll go in first, cover me."

Duo, regaining his composure, nodded and carefully aimed his gun around the inside of store as Wufei stepped inside first. He immediately followed once he cleared the area (he didn't think it was too hard, they could see everything from outside) and stepped next to Wufei, whose nose was crinkled in an intense expression of disgust.

Wufei held his arm out to the side, barring Duo from going any further. "Do you smell that?" he whispered, his eyes glued to the door to the back.

With a confused look, Duo sniffed the air. The aroma of fresh chocolate and butterscotch temporarily filled his senses, but it soon died out and was replaced by a subtle metallic scent hinting at copper. His violet eyes widened. "Blood…"

Wufei nodded curtly and gripped his blade with two hands again. "It's coming from the back." He looked at Duo with a glint of determination in his obsidian eyes. "Watch this area in case someone else comes."

Duo nodded back and the two of them carefully walked over to the back door where they exchanged quick glances before Wufei cautiously pushed open the swivel door. A wave of the sharp odor washed over them and from the corner of his eye, Wufei saw Duo take a deep breath through his mouth. Gathering up all the tolerance he could muster, the Chinese man carefully stepped inside and allowed the door to swing closed behind him.

In front of him was a metal counter with fresh chocolate pieces already cut up and waiting to be put into the display case. On the wall behind that was a row of stainless steel utensils comprised of ladles, spoons, a pizza cutter, and a set of knives. They were all neatly organized in their place, except for one nook in the block of knives that remained empty.

The smell was overpowering now. Holding his left hand to his nose in an attempt to block out some of the retched stench, he continued his survey of the small kitchenette.

Wufei felt his blood chill when he looked to the wall on his left. He'd found the absent knife; it was lodged in the throat of a young man no older than he, pinning the blood drenched body to the wall. The once white chef's garb was splattered with crimson trails leading from the soaked neckline down to the onyx shoes pooled in a sanguine puddle. The eyes that were probably once a lively shade of green were now dull and glazed orbs adorning a bloody face with the jaw dropped in an eternal scream. Like the utensils on the adjoining wall, the body was hanging off the knife as if it were a wall decoration. It seemed almost ritualistic. Whoever had done this must have had incredible strength.

What surprised Wufei the most were the strange marks dotted around the man's neck. The skin seemed torn and chunks were missing, the carotid artery having been dragged out and was lying flaccidly on the scarlet collarbone like a horrendous, limp straw that was messily sucked dry.

He stepped back. The longer he looked the more nauseous he felt. It was all so… _fresh_.

Wufei's eyes widened. _Too fresh._ The amount of time between when they heard the crash to when they arrived at the door wasn't too long, several minutes at most. He felt a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. That meant the victim was probably in there with the killer trying to hide from whatever was happening throughout the rest of the base. Did that mean there were more survivors? And more importantly, was it an inside job?

A slow, creaking sound squeaked behind him and Wufei immediately pivoted and drew a battle stance. It was too late. As soon as his head turned a fuzzy blur tackled him, causing him to release his iron grip on his weapon and knocking both of them back onto the floor. From the sticky warm feeling at the back of his head, Wufei knew he was now wrestling with his attacker in the chocolatier's blood.

A trap. It was all a trap. This _thing_ had seen them come in and concocted a plan to ensnare them. And like the prey they'd become, they fell for it. Wufei bit back a scowl. As ashamed as he was to have fallen for something so ridiculous, he was angrier to not have reacted fast enough. But this thing was _fast_.

He heard a low, guttural, almost feral growl from above him and reflexively reached one of his hands up against his opponent's throat to push away the looming visage. Was it just adrenaline clouding his judgement, or was this person trying to kiss him? Wufei looked up at the face and almost completely froze from a strange mixture of shock, fear and surprise.

His attacker was a young girl, no older than any of the pilots, with blood-soaked bangs framing her wild face. Her white uniform and name tag were mottled with blood, but the freakiest thing, Wufei thought, was her face. Her wild eyes were completely red as if all the vessels in them had bursted and her pupils were constricted to the point where it seemed she had only irises. But her mouth, Wufei struggled with his legs and managed to knee her in the stomach hard enough to roll her off him, _oh God, her mouth_.

The bottom half of her face was entirely painted with red. The grisly grin she wore even as she jumped to her feet as though she didn't register the pain showed off the horrifying teeth she bore in her jaw. Before Wufei could leap to his feet, she lunged at him again. Her teeth were stained with blood and at that point Wufei knew what had happened-she killed her co-worker and actually tried to _eat_ him.

Disgusted and shaken up, Wufei used his left hand to keep her face at bay while his right scrambled around the floor for a weapon. Any weapon. This girl straddling his stomach and squeezing her hands around his neck, contrary to her small stature, was terribly strong. He felt her blood-caked fingernails digging into his skin and the decaying stench of her breath on his face. When he was sure he was going to puke from nausea, his fingertips skimmed a familiar leathery material. He quickly grabbed it and brought it up to the girl's side, the sharp blade colliding with smooth flesh, before using his other hand to bring a left hook hard against her cheek.

She rolled off again and this time Wufei was quicker to his feet. He stood with his hands tightly gripped around his katana, his throat and nostrils burning.

"Maxwell!" he managed to choke out dryly despite his uncooperative throat.

The door burst open and Duo ran in with his gun ready. "Oh man, this is gross," he remarked, nose crinkling in disgust before his eyes widened to size of saucers as his gaze fell upon the body dangling limply on the wall and then to the dead girl on the floor next to the pool of blood. "What the fuck happened in here?!"

"Sh-She attacked me!" Wufei told him, his hand against his throat tenderly. "Crazy girl."

"More like crazy bitch," Duo corrected, looking away with an uncomfortable expression. He suddenly tapped a rattled Wufei's shoulder, causing the other man to jump at his touch. "She was probably hiding in there," he said, pointing at the open cabinet behind the door.

Wufei grunted. Yeah, great, leave it to him to leave the one place storing the psycho unchecked.

There was a sudden, searing pain in his arm and he let out a yell of anguish. The girl was alive?! Her teeth were locked in the meat of his right arm and before he could react, she had him pinned against the back counter. The burning in his arm was intense and continuous, and he found the only thing he could do in this position was punch at her with his free arm. Her strength kept him in a gridlock, and right when he thought she was going to take a chunk right out of his arm, a roaring bang echoed around the small room.

The girl slumped lifelessly to the blood splattered floor with a bullet lodged safely in her head and Wufei assessed the damage to his arm. He wanted to yell at Duo for taking so long, but he knew it lasted only a matter of seconds.

"I hope you got your tetanus shot, Wuffers," Duo teased, his trademark grin on his face.

Wufei groaned. Duo could cope his way all he wanted, but that didn't mean Wufei had to like it. Scowling from the deep, gashing teethmarks that now adorned his arm, he grabbed a white apron from the wall and tore off a long, thin strip to dress his wound with.

"I wonder what happened here," Duo whispered softly, looking down at the dead eyes of the deceased girl.

Tying his makeshift bandage securely with his teeth, Wufei proceeded to pick his abused katana from the floor and wipe the dirtied blade clean with the rest of the apron. He had to wonder, too; just what had happened on the base?

"We need to tell Yuy," Wufei said, replacing the weapon in its sheath at his waist and pulling out the radio from his pocket.

Duo nodded his agreement as the two of them went back out to the front of the store. He was feeling drained already, and he wasn't even the one who had gotten attacked by a rabid candy girl. Shaking his head to try to get the gruesome images out of his head, his eyes caught sight of the candy display. _Well, now is a good time as any, _he thought mischievously, reaching a sneaky hand into the case, _And chocolate produces endorphins. Win-win! …Kind of._

"Glad to see you can still eat after that," Wufei commented, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he lifted the radio to his mouth.

"I'm an opportunist, Wu-man," Duo retorted, popping the chocolate delight into his mouth. "And this is quite an opportunity."

Wufei rolled his eyes as the walkie-talkie in his hand crackled to life. "Yuy, something happened."

"Yeah," Duo added, finishing his candy and walking over to Wufei, "We got attacked by a psycho bitch! I told you, Hee-chan! We shouldn't have split up! Shit _always_ happens when people split up!"

When Duo finished, the radio crackled again before Heero's voice panted over to their side.

"I've lost Trowa."

-End Chapter Two-

I just picked Gee's Candy because it rhymes with See's Candy (which I don't own, so this is kind of like a blatant advertisement, oops).

And secondly, um… yay, action! Sorry if the action bits aren't written very well. I hope you got a good rush out of it anyway! There's more of it to come, that's for sure


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